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5X���� earned 14 Mark of Excellence awards at the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Region 4 spring conference, including first place regional honors for The Burr (best student magazine) and KentWired (best affiliated website). SPJ’s Region 4 comprises colleges and universities in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. SPJ awarded a winner and two finalists in 36 categories. (Some categories awarded winners and finalists separately for small and large institutions. JMC students placed in the large institution category.) First-place win...

5X���� is honored to welcome Academy Award-winning actress and author Octavia Spencer as the keynote speaker for the first university-wide Commencement ceremony on May 13. Best known for critically acclaimed starring roles in films such as “The Help,” “Hidden Figures” and “The Shack,” Ms. Spencer is also the co-author of two children’s books. Her acting roles highlight stories of perseverance and tenacity that motivate and inspire audiences of all ages. Ms. Spencer’s mother, Dellsena, worked as a maid, and Ms. Spencer, the sixth of seven children, earned a bachelor’s degree f...

5X���� was one of 51 schools to compete nationally in Game Day Challenge, the fourth-annual event hosted by the College and University Recycling Coalition, RecycleMania, Keep America Beautiful and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise. The Game Day Challenge is a national waste minimization and recycling competition held during football games to increase awareness of recycling at universities across the country. Kent State placed second in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) schools in pounds recycled per person category. During Kent State’s Game Day Challe...

April 15:  David Hassler is the director of the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State and part of a team of scholars and researchers who compose the Brain Health Institute. He discusses how poetry can be used to enhance wellness.  Full Interview Poetry Reading: Thank You Tree Poetry Reading: My Soul David Hassler Interview: Bonus Track    Brandon Johnson introducing "My Soul"  Fatou M’baye introducing “Thank You, Tree”  Traveling Stanzas   Wick Poetry Center ...

5X����’s Division of Student Affairs hosted its annual employee celebration on April 13 in the Kent Student Center Ballroom. The breakfast event brings the division together to celebrate the employees’ hard work and dedication throughout the year and to recognize integral campus partners. Last year, the division implemented The Greg Jarvie Students First Award to honor employees outside the division who are collaborative partners and keep students first. The award was named in honor of Greg Jarvie, a 5X���� alumnus who served the university for 29 years as ...

Kent State East Liverpool is preparing for its annual Environmental Justice Conference to be held April 22, beginning at 8 a.m. in the Slak Shak in Purinton Hall. The day-long conference includes student paper sessions, online presentations and poster presentations that showcase student research, as well as guest speakers. It is free and the public is invited. This year’s speakers include Dr. Babacar M'Baye, Barton Paul Levenson and Kyle Barron. M'Baye is the keynote speaker and his presentation is “Theorizing Environmental Injustice through the Prisms of Racism and Colonialism.” He is an a...

Spring is in the air and soon the butterflies will be, too.  Their exquisite colors and graceful flight are a welcomed sight from the cold and barren landscape of winter. As they float from flower to flower, they are contributing to more than cross pollination, the butterflies are helping researchers study new ways to deliver medicine to humans. Matthew S. Lehnert, assistant professor of biological sciences at 5X���� at Stark, has been studying how the mouthparts of butterflies and moths work since 2010. His research shows that the method in which flies and butterflies ing...